CCPA diktat for celebrities & influencers: Stricter penalties for surrogate ads

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: After companies, it’s now the turn of celebrities and social media influencers to draw censure from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). They face fines of up to ₹50 lakh if found promoting alcohol and tobacco through surrogate advertising, said two people directly involved in framing new guidelines on surrogate ads.

Under the new rules being framed by the apex consumer protection agency, celebrities and influencers found participating in surrogate ads will face a penalty of ₹10 lakh for a first-time violation and ₹50 lakh for each subsequent violation. “We have invoked Clause 13 of the existing guidelines for the prevention of misleading advertisements and endorsements, 2022, in the upcoming norms for surrogate ads," the first person said. As per the draft guidelines, seen by Mint, endorsers—such as celebrities and social media influencers—must ensure they are promoting legitimate products and not restricted items like alcohol or tobacco.

“The endorsers have to follow specific rules outlined in Clause 13 of the 2022 guidelines. This means they need to make sure the advertisement isn’t misleading or deceptive. They should carefully check that the claims in the ad are true, clear, and won’t mislead the public," this person explained.

For example, if a celebrity endorses a product like soda, packaged water or T-shirts, they must verify that these don’t have messaging, branding or packaging that closely resemble any alcohol or other restricted brands. There is a complete ban on tobacco and alcohol advertising in India, and it's common practice for whiskey brands to try and get around the ban by advertising on the back of sodas. This rule is meant to prevent brands